In Hungary, the dental tourism profits reach a stunning 227 million Euros annually, which means that the country has got as much as 40% share of the entire European tourism market. However, Hungary sets the stakes even higher, and wants to achieve a figure two times higher in the following three years.

According to the statement of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, dental tourism is what will set the economy of the country back on track. There will be made huge investments in the dental care field, in order to be abler to offer even higher standard care for the patients that choose Hungary as their primary spot. Moreover, Hungarian dentists are going to be kept at home by being offered incentives.

On the other hand, Turkey has also become quite a favored dental tourism spot by foreign patients. Even medical and dental tourists from the US are traveling to Turkey for quality and cheap dental care.

Between the years 2010 and 2014 there is estimated an increase of 26% in the field of medical & dental tourism on the market of Turkey. The government is spending a lot of money on marketing purposes for the country, while the costs of these medical services are indeed low but of high quality. In the private sector, there are also made some hefty investments, which will attract even more patients to the dental offices from Turkey. US medical travelers are also attracted by the country because Turkish hospitals have affiliations with several reputable American hospitals, such as John Hopkins or Harvard.

The state of Oklahoma is becoming a more and more favored medical spot for oncology patients. There are offered proton therapy treatments which are available in very few regions across the US, and this fact will attract even more patients that need qualitative care in the field of cancerous diseases.

In Costa Rica, things go from “dormant” to “robust” extremely quickly. While a few years ago, Costa Rica has been a popular medical tourist spot only for cosmetic surgery, now the country has developed a very strong healthcare system. Now, more and more medical tourists seek high quality care in fields such as oncology, cardiology, spinal cord surgery or orthopedics- because the prices are lower, and the quality of care extremely professional.

If we have a look at the rest of the Latin America, we’ll notice a change in better as well. A couple of years ago, in Mexico or the Central Americas, there did not exist internationally accredited health facilities. Today, there are 14 Latin American health facilities operating, which have received their accreditation from the same commissions that offer accreditation to the famous US hospitals.

The facilities are spread throughout Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico – but following closely behind are El Salvador and Panama as well.

According to Ian Youngman, researcher and writer who specializes in health care issues and health insurance in general, the fate of the medical and dental travel will go from global to local. Increasing costs for gas, accommodation, plus paying for treatments, will have patients choosing health facilities that are in the nearby of their location (US citizens seeking care within US, while Europeans will be traveling to countries within Europe). Source: worldental.org